KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 – Detours are opportunities. Sometimes it can mean stumbling upon a new place, a restaurant or bakery you’ve not seen or heard of before.
Sometimes it provides a brief respite from a packed schedule. Sometimes it is a reminder that even familiar flavours can surprise.
A detour can mean ordering a Salted Egg Chicken Burger at a café we have never heard of.
The cosy interior of the café. — Picture by CK Lim
Thanks to a sudden downpour one morning, when we were on the way to another appointment, we experienced all of the above.
Goodness knows the weather can be unpredictable but heavy rain demands respect. To get out of traffic before visibility falls to zero. I parked at the first available bay that I could find.
Serendipitously, this parking spot was right in front of Icon Brewings, a café cum hair salon (an increasingly common mixed use of commercial space) in Cheras.
The shop had just opened when we arrived; one of the staff tidying up the entrance area. But there were already customers inside. The early bird gets the worm indeed, or escapes the wet weather outside perhaps.
Pots of leafy plants in soil and in water, soothing yellow light from minimalist lights, tiny red lanterns to evoke a more festive atmosphere: the interior of the café is, above all else, cosy and welcoming, despite its tiny space (the back of the shop being occupied by the hair salon).
The chill from the unexpected shower called for an immediate hot cuppa or two. Time to warm our shivering bones. Coffee, naturally.
We ordered our usual Long Black and Flat White. While at other cafés, the barista might ask you what sort of coffee beans you’d like (it’s increasingly common to be presented with at least two options nowadays, even at brunch spots), our weary brain cells needn’t make a decision here.
What we were presented with were strong, robust coffee. One with milk, and one black. No floral notes, no hints of blueberries, no litany of words to describe how the beans were processed at some farm in Central America, or who the award-winning coffee roaster was.
Just coffee, which was exactly what we needed. Perfect.
Long Black. — Picture by CK Lim
Now typically we would select some pastries to go with our coffee – a nearly decadent pain au chocolat or a back-to-basics croissant – or even a slice of sourdough toast topped with soft scrambled eggs, avocado or crispy bacon.
But why go the usual route, when we have already taken a detour?
The inclement weather had already made us more famished than we usually were at this early hour. What’s to stop us from enjoying a more substantial breakfast, something we’d normally have for lunch?
This, dear readers, might well be the original reason why the betwixt and between meal of “brunch” was invented. Not because it’s too early for lunch but too late for breakfast, but simply because one wanted lunch for breakfast.
Flat White. — Picture by CK Lim
(A former colleague always heartily endorsed the notion of dessert before the main course; this could be her way of taking detours at the dining table.)
Which is why I found myself slurping on the café’s Chicken Roulade Dry Ramen. Not unlike having wantan mee for brekkie, the noodles lean towards tender rather than al dente, which many reckon would suit our local palate better.
The savoury roulade – rolled chicken meat, grilled yet still very moist – is sliced then torched for an appetising final sear. An ajitsuke tamago (Japanese seasoned egg) cut in half, with its yolk still delightfully jammy, and crunchy enoki mushrooms complete the dish.
A fusion bowl, clearly, and it goes remarkably well with espresso-based coffee, rather than the traditional cup of green tea one might imagine.
Chicken Roulade Dry Ramen. — Picture by CK Lim
Then there is the aforementioned Salted Egg Chicken Burger.
Nothing particularly innovative, you might argue, given the prevalence of battered chicken between two buns as well as the now passé trend of adding salted egg yolk sauce to just about everything.
Yet the devil is in the details. Here the boneless chicken thigh is well marinated, keeping the meat succulent. And there is a reason why creamy salted egg yolk sauce is such a modern Malaysian classic – it just works and does its job splendidly.
So what we have here is a big handful, a messy burger that begs to be eaten with two hands (washed and clean, please!) instead of awkward cutlery.
A big handful, and if one can manage it, a mouthful, one bite after another until it is all gone.
If only all detours were this delightful.
A big handful. — Picture by CK Lim
Icon Brewings
24, Jalan Manis 3,
Taman Bukit Segar,
Cheras, KL
Open Thu-Tue 9am-7pm; Wed closed
Phone: 03-9133 7779
*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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